House races to provide top show

Redistricting has heated up contests, party politics as primaries approach

CLAY ROBISON, Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

Published 6:30 am, Sunday, March 7, 2004

AUSTIN -- Tuesday's congressional primaries in Texas -- and the general election shootouts to follow in the fall -- are the most competitive in years because of the redistricting that created half a dozen new Republican seats.

They also will be the top political show in the state as returns come in Tuesday night, now that the Democratic presidential race atop the ballot is all but officially settled.

Much of the congressional action will be decided in Republican primaries, many of which have attracted multiple candidates. Several open districts are heavily Republican. In other areas, GOP hopefuls are battling each other for the opportunity to take on Democratic incumbents in districts now less friendly to Democrats.

For years, he noted, Democrats in power redrew congressional lines to protect Democratic incumbents and discourage would-be challengers. But the Republicans in charge during last year's prolonged redistricting fight drafted a "thorough changeover" to boot out Democrats and elect Republicans.

Consequently, he added, "There are lots of Republicans who have been waiting their turn pouring into these races."

After all the votes are counted next fall, Texas Republicans could gain as many as six seats in Congress to give them a 22-10 advantage in the delegation. And as long as Republicans remain in power in Austin, the new partisan breakdown may hold for years to come.

The altered lines already have prompted one Democratic congressman, Jim Turner of Crockett, to decide not to run for re-election and another, Ralph Hall of Rockwall, to switch to the Republican Party, giving the delegation a 16-16 partisan split.

Doggett, a liberal Democrat who was one of the main targets of the Republican purge, saw his old 10th Congressional District, which used to be wholly contained within Travis County, transformed into a Republican stronghold stretching from conservative neighborhoods in north Austin to Houston's western suburbs.

While eight Republicans -- and no Democrats -- have been fighting for the new 10th, Doggett has been spending most of the primary season in the Rio Grande Valley, campaigning in the southern half of a new 25th Congressional District that stretches 300 miles north to Austin.

It is a Democratic district that likely will return Doggett to Congress for a sixth term -- if he can overcome a strong Democratic primary challenge from Leticia Hinojosa, a former state district judge from Edinburg.

The 25th Congressional District also is heavily Hispanic, much of it is new territory for Doggett, and Hinojosa is a familiar name in the Valley. But Doggett, who has been campaigning virtually full time in South Texas since announcing for the seat and entered the race with a $2 million campaign fund, is considered the favorite.

He has been endorsed by several local officials in the Valley and by the United Farm Workers Union. Hinojosa, meanwhile, has picked up a major endorsement in Doggett's back yard, that of state Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin, who wanted to run for the 10th District 10 years ago but was outmaneuvered by Doggett.

Jerry Polinard, a political science professor at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, said Hinojosa, who rose from a modest childhood in the Valley, has a "good story to tell."

But he added: "I think right now Doggett has to be favored. He has the advantage of name recognition, a large war chest and an early start."

Elsewhere in South Texas, Rodriguez didn't have to move from his home in San Antonio to seek a fifth term in Congress, but the 28th District was altered enough -- particularly with the addition of part of Webb County -- to make him scramble. He is being challenged in the Democratic primary by Henry Cuellar of Laredo, a former state representative and former Texas secretary of state, who lost a hard-fought race against U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-San Antonio, two years ago.

The geographic distribution of the district favors Rodriguez in the primary, but the race is hard-fought and mud-spattered. The district's voting history is Democratic, but four Republicans are seeking their party's nomination.

Republican primary races include the realigned, Republican-friendly 1st, 2nd and 17th congressional districts, where the GOP hopes to unseat Democratic incumbents Max Sandlin of Marshall, Nick Lampson of Beaumont and Chet Edwards of Waco, and the 10th, 11th and 24th districts, new heavily Republican districts that don't have incumbents.

Two other major congressional races are uncontested in the primaries but will pit incumbents against each other in November.

U.S. Rep. Martin Frost, D-Dallas, a 25-year incumbent and perhaps the main target of the Republican redistricting effort, is running against U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas, in the new 32nd Congressional District. U.S. Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Abilene, will battle freshman U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, in the 19th Congressional District in West Texas.